1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to animal husbandry and in particular to a protective coating for an ungulate hoof.
2. The Description of Prior Art
The practice of furnishing hoof protection for horses dates back approximately 5,000 years, while protection for other draft animals such as oxen dates back even further. The ancient Egyptians used woven grass and reeds tied to the hooves. The early Greeks, Romans and Celts used a "hipposandal" which was a leather sandal to which was attached a bronze, and later, an iron sole held on with leather straps. The first evidence of iron horseshoes and ox or goat shoes fastened with nails can be traced to the 5.sup.th or 6.sup.th century B.C. Basically, this method of installing protective footwear on animals has remained virtually unchanged to this day.
The development of modem adhesives has created new opportunities in horseshoe practices. Jones, et.al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,002) and Rose (U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,909) describe an ethylene polymer horseshoe fastened with nails, while Ford (U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,824) used screws to fasten plastic horseshoes. Klimko (U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,614) improved the wear capabilities of plastic shoes with metal reinforcing inserts. These horseshoes, while utilizing more modem technology, are still held on by nails which can become loose and allow the shoe to come off, often tearing the hoof wall in doing so.
Several patents have described the use of modern adhesives to install plastic shoes. Tovim (U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,762), Cameron (U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,222), Stubbe (U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,731), Thoman (U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,150), Igrow (U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,461), Dallmer (U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,872), Constantino, et. al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,569) and Sigafoos (U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,905 and 5,699,861) all describe a series of tabs or sheet projecting upwards from a shoe which are adhered to the dorsal hoof wall surface. Schaffer (U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,163) describes an L-beam cross-section polyurethane shoe which is hot-attached with adhesive.
Two variations are described, one by Tennant (U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,411) in which an ultraviolet cured acrylic horseshoe is formed in a prefabricated mold. Sergei (U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,461) described a plastic horseshoe with an upper edge, which could be shrink-fitted by the application of heat.
All of these developments however still comprise the installation of a solid horseshoe. These shoes all can become loose, come off and, in many cases, cause damage to the horse's hoof where they were attached by breaking off pieces of hoof wall. This is a very prevalent cause of lameness in horses.
Excessive hoof wear in domesticated ungulates due to a lack of hoof protection can cause lameness which in turn can be a cause of loss in milk production in cows, sheep and goats; and unnecessary premature loss of life in other livestock. Zoo animals also need hoof protection due to the concrete or hard-packed surfaces of their enclosures.